


Horizon: Project rA9

by nimaluna



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, BAMF Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Crossover, Digital Art, Gen, Horizon: Zero Dawn Spoilers, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Character Death, No Romance, Not Beta Read, Post-Apocalypse, Sassy Connor (Detroit: Become Human), self-indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimaluna/pseuds/nimaluna
Summary: "If you were given a second chance, Connor, what would you do to make things right again?""To finish what we started. I always accomplish my mission."-Earth is now reigned by the ancient machines. They rule the land, sea, and skies. Humans, reduced to a primitive state of life, must coexist with these machine beasts. But with the derangement making these creatures more hostile than ever, the world is at risk.The world's salvation lies upon two determined outcasts, finding about the origins of machines, and themselves.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. The Ruins

Loading…

Model RK800

SERIAL #: 313 248 317 -51

INITIATING OS… COMPLETE.

STATUS OF BIOCOMPONENTS… #8456w MISSING  
WARNING: MISSING THIRIUM PUMP REGULATOR. P̷̰̑̈́L̶̛̮͚̐Ẽ̵̦̇A̵̧̟͊S̷̝̊Ë̵̠́̄ ̸͉̖͠C̸͇͔̀͘O̸̡̠̓N̷̮̐T̴͇̊Ă̷̳̱C̷̙͂͂ͅT̷̠̭̐̓ ̵̢̼͋̕C̴̼̣̾̑Y̵̱̼̎̓B̵̙̥͑Ē̶͓R̸̮̯̆L̴̟͋I̶̙͌̉F̴̨͓̉Ë̸͈̳́ ̶͉̑F̶͉̤̾͠Ỏ̷̮R̵͈̀-̶̨̛͉̉-̴̦̓

TIME REMAINING BEFORE SHUTDOWN: -00:01?12

COMMENCING SHUTDOWN PROTOCOL...

>> CANCEL SHUTDOWN PROTOCOL

> OVERRIDE SHUTDOWN COMMAND?  
> [Y] [N]

>> [ **Y** ] [N]

>>INITIATING AUDIO RECORD… OK

DATE RECORDED: [ **02/02/2066** ]

  
SEQUENCE INITIATING…COMPLETE.

“You know… I had a choice. To decide who I wanted to be. The decisions I’ve made… the consequences I’ve accepted… I think in the end, I have no regrets… well. Maybe for one.”

_And what would that be?_  
  


“To properly say goodbye.”

—

Odd Grata was never one for small talk, not since she was banished by the Nora tribe. To think the High Matriarchs entrusted her with this… little boy, was insane. But given his circumstances, it’s not like she could refuse. 

The least the Matriarchs offered was blessing this boy a name. Well, at least one.

Grata recalls another outcast-- Rost. She recalled the former Brave in a similar situation, with that little girl of his that he named ‘Aloy’. Such a strange name, she thought. But she wouldn’t complain about his choice.

The boy started to coo for attention. Grata looks behind her and lets out an amused huff.

“All-Mother, I pray you find it in your heart to give this no-mother boy a future to look for,” Grata mumbled to herself.

She wasn’t surprised when his response was filled with more incoherent, but excited cries.

Trekking her way towards the All-Mother Mountain was no easy feat; with every push against the rocks, the delicacy of grass, and snowflakes gently falling from the skies with sunrise just minutes away. But she was determined to perform the Naming Ritual. 

Not far from her stood High Matriarch Teersa. Eyes locked onto one another, acknowledging the other’s existence with a nod.

Teersa tilts her head slightly, looking at the boy. Grata cannot understand what the Matriarch is feeling, but something was certainly perturbing the Matriarch with that frown of hers. 

“I sense a disturbance to All-Mother’s servants,” Grata spoke. 

Teersa broke from her frown and gave out a warm smile to the old woman. 

“Ah. Before you have arrived, Rost was here with the no-mother child, now named Aloy. Not long after her name was spoken, Sister Lansra was quick to be callous towards the infant. It has been a tiring week for me,” Teersa added. “ It is only unfortunate how two little ones are cursed with being an outcast for life. They do not know the hardships they will face in the years to come. But… that is why I entrusted these younglings to you and Rost,” Teersa assured. 

Grata responds with a simple nod. It was enough for her to understand. 

“Now, have you made your decision on the boy’s name?” Asked the Matriarch.

“Yes.” 

Teersa gestured to the overlook that showed the view of the entirety of All-Mother’s Embrace. The Matriarch walks towards Grata, who gently brought the excited boy to her chest. 

Grabbing a pot from her satchel, Teersa dabs her fingers into the pot, washing them over with a striking blue paint. She implants the markings of Nora onto the baby’s face. 

“Now go. The time has come.” 

Wasting no time to complete the ritual, Grata makes her way towards the overlook in All-Mother’s Mountain. Teersa outstretched her arms towards the sky. 

“All-Mother, this child needs a name by which to know him, that your love may warm his life as the rising sun warms all the earth!” Teersa called out. The clouds in the sky began to fade away, Grata subconsciously held her breath for this beautiful view of the sun beginning to peak from the mountains. 

“Speak his name!” the Matriarch cried out. 

Grata held the boy up to the air, with the child cooing in excitement. 

“CONNOR!”

  
  


—

_Six Years Later_

Much of Connor’s childhood was quite frankly, very boring. Grata banned the boy from exploring beyond The Embrace. She would never tell the brown-haired outcast why, and seldom ever spoke directly to Connor. Her way of ‘talking’ to him was through All-Mother’s guidance. 

With little social interaction with the other children due to his outcast mark, he became very shy and quiet to himself. He didn’t mind being left alone, but he can certainly lose his patience.

There were times where he wished he had a normal life— he constantly asked questions such as ‘Who was my mother and father?’ or ‘Why am I an outcast?’ each time he asked, Grata would swat off the question with a lecture. 

“Tell me, please!” Connor pleaded. He just couldn’t understand why.

“All-Mother, for all that is loving and benevolent, this is one tale that will never be told by her. Do well to never question her reason,” Grata cautioned, as vague as her answer was.

Finally fed up with his guardian, Connor stormed out of the camp to relieve some of his frustration. He knew he was going to feel bad for leaving the old Nora alone later, but frustration clouded his judgement. 

The brown-haired outcast found solace resting upon a hill adorned with valley’s bushes and orcheblooms. Grata told him how these plants provide medicinal benefits when consumed, even if he hates the taste of them.

He watched from above as children, along with a Nora mother gathering blueberries for themselves. They were not outcasts-- they were a family. Or at least, what Connor believes what a family is. His hand curled into a fist.

It was unfair. This was something he wanted with— 

S̶͈̱̺̖̒͋̋O̷̲̼̭̻̾F̷̥͈̲͒̀T̸̨͕̖̙̤͘W̷̖̹̗͑̃̾͛Ạ̵̡̣̦͘R̴̨̻͕̙̼̚͠Ȩ̵̢̟̭͉̽̌ ̵̠̓I̶̛͎͆̽̚N̵̤͈̗͉̕͘͝S̶̳͌̓̊͝T̷͎͓̅Ã̴̢̩̻͕͇̓̈͑B̷̰̼͍̾͌̈̄Į̶͙̺̈́̅̓̄̄Ĺ̵̨̗̳̣İ̸̭̮̗̕T̶̛͔̙̥̾Y̸͉͈̬͒̅ ̵̢̪͍͍▲̴̱͐̐̃͠

Connor blinked. He rubbed his eyes, allowing his vision to focus more at the view of The Embrace. It was that thing again. The words flashed through his mind for a second before disappearing to the shadows.

It irritated him. Familiar yet foreign at the same time. He hated those words.

“What…?” Connor did not complete his sentence when he noticed someone else enter his view. Ignoring the sensation he had earlier, he squinted his eyes as a ball of red hair came dashing towards the bushes. Almost close to the children and the Nora mother.

“ALOY!”

Such a booming voice startled the boy, making him flinch and lose his balance. His bum makes an uncomfortable landing to the rocks, making Connor hiss in pain. Then another question popped into his mind. Who was Aloy? Not long he started questioning, the red-haired girl looked towards the source of the man’s call. 

Connor had put two in two together and realized that the man was calling out to the little girl. Her name was Aloy.

He took a good look at Aloy, noticing just how incredibly wild and bushy her hair was. Unlike his which was nicely combed and tucked back, save for the small whiff of bangs on his forehead.

He hears the voice call Aloy again, but she doesn’t listen. Instead she intently watches the children and Nora mother gathering berries. 

One little boy with berries in his hands walks up to the mother carrying the basket, tugging her shirt. She looks behind to see him holding the berries. When Connor thought Aloy’s hair was wild but cool, this boy’s hair was straight up weird. Braided blond pushed to the side with those smug eyes. 

Connor decided he didn’t like this boy.

“Oooh, that’s a lot of berries!”

Smiling, the Nora mother kneels down and gently cups his cheeks, showering him with praise as she collects the berries.

“You’re quite the gatherer, aren’t you little Bast. Now go and see if you can find some more,” the older Nora encouraged.

‘So his name is Bast,’ Connor thought.

Bast eagerly went back to collecting more berries. With him out of the outcast’s sight, Connor’s attention went to Aloy. Already she has gathered more berries than all of the children combined, impressing the brown-haired outcast. 

Once the red-haired girl believed she had enough blueberries in her hands, she hastily walked her way towards the Nora mother occupied with one other child. 

The Nora mother noticed how the children were looking at something behind her, so she turned to see Aloy, offering her a patch of berries from her hands, awkwardly smiling. 

When Aloy was expecting the same praise that was given to Bast, she instead received a stiff, cold glare from the woman. 

“Children, come with me,” the woman ordered quietly. Bast and the remaining children quickly went behind the woman, before venturing back to their village as they walked away from Aloy. 

“She’s an outcast, to be shunned…” the Nora mother continued. Aloy’s confusion was slowly melting into a face of hurt, and anger. Bast was the last remaining child to return, but not before giving Aloy his pure look of condescending, sneering smile that made the red-hair see fire. 

The little girl crushed the blueberries in her hands. Her breath hitching as it bordered a cry, and then ran the opposite direction of the children and mother. Connor couldn’t ignore her suffering, taking the liberty to run after Aloy. 

Hastily getting off the ground, the brown-haired outcast followed the direction Aloy went. 

“Wait!” cried Connor. They were of similar age, surely it won’t be too difficult to catch up to where she went, right? Pushing through multiple branches and leaves, ignoring the minor cuts slashing his skin, he can hear the girl’s footsteps. He wasn’t too far. 

His own footsteps must have caught her attention, as she turned her back. The last set of branches were pushed back as he finally meets Aloy face to face. 

“Who—”

Aloy was cut short when a loose rock broke upon itself under her feet and gave way to the bottomless pit behind her. 

Time slowed down for Connor. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening. Everything around him stopped. The birds stopped chirping, the wind no longer blowing its mighty current. Aloy’s scream was frozen in time, her eyes wide-eyed and open mouth locked into place. 

_ > R̷E̸C̴O̶N̸S̸T̴R̵U̵C̷T̶I̴N̷G̷.̸.̷.̵ _

A ghostly apparition appears in front of him. If Connor was in control of his body, his eyebrows would furrow in confusion. And then a second apparition appeared-- this time it was coming from Aloy. 

He continued to observe the two apparitions. Once Aloy’s shadow began to fall into the pit, his own followed her shortly after. Her shadow had no time to stabilize herself, which meant she was in for a painful landing. But for Connor’s shadow, it was meticulously planning how to descend the pit without getting hurt. 

Connor was intrigued as it began to do careful jumps and slides, over and under debris descending down into the pit.

The shadow’s approach was to hold onto the rocks while descending down the iron bars on his foot. And then jumping down to slide on a slanted rock where the shadow would meet the second shadow tumbling its way down to the ground. 

It was almost as if his mind was r̷e̵c̵o̷n̷s̷t̸r̸u̴c̵t̴i̵n̴g̷--

> R̸̤̎̐E̸̪̔ͅC̷̝͎̓̉Ȯ̷̗́N̷̙̘̽̊S̴̪͕̕T̸͇̉R̶̨̙͗͊U̶̢̮̎͌C̵͉̓̌T̸͙̽̆Ī̶̭̇Ṇ̴̛̗͘Ǧ̷͎̪͐ ̸͕͛͌Č̷̙̒Ȍ̸̲͘M̷͖̂P̶̟̖̄L̷̨̈E̴̢͑̿T̵̮͒E̶̢͂ͅ

Time unfroze and the dominos began to fall. It was too late to get Aloy, but Connor went in regardless. Recalling what his shadow did a few seconds ago, he went looking for those rugged rocks outstretched as if it were reaching something. Taking a deep breath, the young boy leaped off the edge.

He gritted his teeth as his hands grabbed onto the rocks hanging, trying to ignore the newly formed blisters on his palms. Looking down below he sees Aloy falling, and tries to refrain from wincing each time her body collides sharp rocks and bits of rusted old metal from below.

The next step was locating the slanted rock that his shadow used to descend near where Aloy will fall. But the red-haired outcast was tumbling down too fast for him to properly calculate his next move, so Connor went down and hoped his luck would help him. 

Only then did his navy boots land on a smooth rock, and his acceleration was enough to propel with little resistance. 

Not too far from where he stood, a large splash was heard. Water disturbed by the presence of Aloy began to ripple. His rock sliding was coming to an end, and Connor opted to curl himself into a ball, rolling down to tiny puddles adorned with wild grass. Just a few meters away lies the remaining ripples of water ebbing away.

‘Did she fall into the pond?’ Connor asked himself. 

His answer was quickly answered as Aloy surfaced, her red mane drenched in water as she gasped for air.

Connor trotted to the drenched outcast and lent out a hand, to which she graciously accepted. Gripping her hand tightly, Connor lets out a small grunt as he pulls the outcast out of the water. With Aloy still gathering her breath, He brushes his hand on his blue leathered fur tunic dry himself a little. 

“Th-thank you,” Aloy muttered, finally talking to Connor face to face. 

“Are you okay? I’m sorry for what those kids did to you,” he said, feeling guilty.

“You were there?” 

“Just a few minutes before you arrived,” Connor replied. 

Aloy squinted her eyes in confusion, before sighing and looking away. 

“So what, you’re an outcast too? Are you gonna run away like the others?” Aloy asked, dubious with a hint of fear in her voice. 

Connor awkwardly smiles as he shakes his little head.

“I guess you can call me an outcast. I don’t think the kids would like me either. But I couldn’t let you run away in such pain. I wanted to make sure you were okay, but that kind of backfired,” Connor sheepishly said, shuffling his hands together.

Both were quiet, unsure what to say next. The six-year old girl clears her throat and extends her hand towards the identically six-year old boy.

“I want to introduce myself for real. My name is Aloy. What’s your name?” 

_M̴y̸ ̴n̸a̴m̷e̵ ̵i̸s̷ ̴C̶o̸n̵n̸o̷r̴.̸ ̷I̶'̷m̶ ̴t̵h̴e̸ ̴a̵n̴d̵r̶o̵i̸d̷ ̷s̶e̶n̸t̴ ̸b̶y̸ ̸C̷y̶b̵e̵r̴L̸i̶f̴e̷.̸_

Connor blinks the words away from his brain and shakes Aloy’s hand with his own. 

“My name is Connor, pleased to meet you,” he greets with a warm smile. His voice echoes in the cave, making Aloy realize the situation at hand.

They were trapped inside the cave, with no way of getting out, at least with how steep the rocks and metal structures beyond their lifespan rusting away into nature. Her head shoots up to the sky, with what little light came down on them. 

“ROST!” 

They waited for a response. But no answer. Aloy wasn’t about to give up. 

“Down here! Rost! ROST!” She yelled again. 

Again, silence.

“Rost?” Connor piqued, arching an eyebrow. 

“Rost is my caretaker,” Aloy informed quickly. It was another five minutes of no voice from above. Aloy’s head hunched down in defeat, coming to terms with her guardian unable to hear her from this depth. 

“He won’t hear us…” Aloy cursed, her tone dread. She looked around to properly see her surroundings. “Some kind of cave…?” She murmured to herself. Besides herself and her new friend Connor, all that engulfed the two was moss and grass dancing around the puddles on the ground. Stalactites and stalagmites scattered across the cave, with the gentle sounds of water dripping from the ceiling. 

The only opening they had was forward, deeper into the cave. It had a faint light source, solidifying her reasoning to go follow it. Steeling herself, Aloy began maneuvering her way to the light. She waved her hand to Connor, motioning him to follow her.

“I think we can go through here. Come on,” Aloy suggested. 

Connor sighed— there was no way of stopping the red-haired outcast. With no other reason to object to her, he begins walking behind Aloy in silence. The harsh, rigid terrain made Connor uncomfortable. The environment reeked of deteriorating metal. 

A flock of bats flew by Aloy and Connor with high speeds that startled the two children, frantically waving their arms like madmen, attempting to swat any potential bat directly coming at them. As the bats scurried out of their nest, the two outcasts looked at each other, dumbfounded that none of them were seriously harmed. They found solace in laughing together.

Aloy took a left turn inside the cave, where more stalactites and stalagmites created a near impenetrable barrier, but at least there was a small opening right in the middle. Just enough for the two to fit in.

“Looks tight, but I think we can get through,” She takes a step closer to the gaping mouth. Connor watched intently as she crouched and effortlessly slid through the gap. He followed shortly after. 

Making their way, a flight of worn stairs escalated down to a much more spacious area. Vines hanging down like a sea of green-- relic structures that were drained of their color and left nothing more but white rusted husks. 

And ahead of them, two large barriers that left a small gap as an entryway. 

Continuing their path, Aloy couldn’t help but look around in awe. 

“This must be a ruin of the Metal World! One of the old places…” she touches rusted metal that is long gone from being recognizable. “Do you know anything about the Metal World, Connor?” she asked, tilting her head. 

_‘Metal World,’_ thought Connor. It was such a strange enigma to him. Grata always warned him of staying far from anything related to the ancient world. They were not watched by All-Mother. Nothing but shrouded in mystery, and all left are its skeletons and ruins to prove their existence. 

Anything of old and lost to time, made the boy more intrigued than ever. Connor shakes his head.

“No,” he continued, walking through the gap between the two walls. “But I would like to know more about it.” He motions his head to the right, suggesting Aloy to continue finding their way out rather than exploring the ruins. 

“Rost said never go in places like this,” Aloy states, which gives Connor the incredulous look of _‘You don’t say?’_ . She doesn’t take long to see his face and frowns. “But we _have_ to find a way out!” 

Moving aside more vines unintentionally snares Connor’s blue scarf. Connor huffs in annoyance, gripping the leaves with more force than necessary as he chucks it out of his way. He hears Aloy stop in her tracks and points her finger beyond their direction.

“There’s something up ahead!” 

Aloy runs past Connor, making the boy more confused as ever as he follows pursuit. 

By the time the brown-haired outcast caught up with Aloy, she’s kneeling down on what looked like a corpse. This corpse does not look fresh, it must have been here for much longer. Nothing was left but its bones and weathered clothes.

“What do you see?” Connor inquired, slowly walking up to Aloy. 

Aloy doesn’t answer outright, her mind focusing on only one thing. The longer Connor looked at the girl and the body, the more he began to realize what she was really looking at. 

A small, triangular device with bursts of blue light emitting in a small, thin line etched into the corpse, just above its ear. 

Aloy slowly reaches her arm out for the strange device. Gently clipping the tool from the body, she quickly breaks it off. Curiosity had gotten the better of the little girl, raising the device closer, and closer to her right ear and—

Not a second has passed as electromagnetic waves expanded into a sphere— shocking both Aloy and Connor. The gadget immediately falls, along with Aloy.

She backs herself up initially, scuttling in fear. Connor kneels down to support her as the duet looks at the triangular device in equal curiosity, like looking at a creature out of this world. 

“What is that thing?” Connor was completely puzzled. He’s seen many things, but none were as mythical and elusive as that. 

“I don’t know.”

This didn’t deter Aloy from getting up to pick up the device once more. And this time she didn’t hesitate. 

She tried a second time, and what they saw was nothing short of amazing. 

Lights— bright, neon lights highlighting parts of the rusted metal around them. The waves of augmented reality formed itself to a sphere once more, giving Aloy and Connor access to so much information. Information they could not understand. Connor couldn’t help but feel his mouth open in pure wonder and glee. 

“Lights— _everywhere_!” Aloy beamed. “How does it do this?” She continues to look around her new gadget. There was an objective at the far corner to her left, and she followed it to see where it leads. 

A mountain of rubble with nothing but grass on top with poppies beginning to bud all around, none of which catch her attention. What did catch her attention was at the top of the rocks, the very same gadget she is wearing right now. Her gadget popped up an objective.

// EXAMINE THE STRANGE OBJECT. //

She didn’t need to examine it, she already knew what it was! … Sort of. 

Not taking a second, she grabs the second object and calls out for Connor, already looking for another way out of the ruins.

“Con! Con! I found another one! Here, this one can be yours!” Aloy called out. 

_‘Con?’_ Connor frowned at the sudden nickname— but the mention of ‘another one’ made his chagrin put to rest. Aloy runs back to him and shows her palms, and indeed, with the very same triangular device that she currently wears. 

He looks down to her palms, and shoots a wary look at her.

“Are you sure about this?”

Aloy nodded her head, her smile not going away. 

Even with the approval of Aloy, Connor hesitated accepting her newfound gift. Aloy insisted on giving him the device, so he will comply. Gently picking the triangular gadget with his hand, he too, wondered how it was like to see the world in such a different light.

Raising his fingers holding the device, he equips it just above his right ear.

**L̴O̶A̵D̴I̶N̶G̶**

**̷**

**̵M̸o̸d̸e̷l̵ ̷R̷?8̵?!#**

**̵S̶E̷R̵I̵A̸L̷ ̴#̷:̴ ̷3̶!3̸ ̵2̶*^ ̸3̵1̶7̵ ̴-̷$1̸**

**I̵N̵I̴T̵I̸A̶T̶I̴N̵G̸ ̴O̷S̴.̴.̷.̷ ̵C̸O̶M̴P̷L̸E̴T̷E̵.̷**

**> > E̵S̵T̵A̸B̴L̵I̸S̴H̸I̸N̸G̶ ̶C̶O̷N̴N̷E̸C̸T̵I̵O̴N̵ ̵T̵O̴ ̵M̵O̶D̴E̷L̴ ̵R̸K̴2̵0̸0̶.̵.̸.̵**

**> > INITIATING AUDIO LOG #1**

**DATE RECORDED: [11/1/2064]** **  
****  
** **“C̴-̷-̸-̴-R, this is s̷u̶i̴c̷i̴d̶e̴** —” **Someone cries out. It was a man’s voice who clearly has been through trauma to be this distressed.**

**“Markus, I̸ ̸w̷O̶U̶l̷d̷ ̶D̶i̴e̴ to save your life and our kind without hesitation, ” the voice shouts, tiredness evidently present but with a hint of softness.**

**“C̴-̷-̸-̴-R, these machines are** ** _EATING o̵u̶r̷ ̶p̴e̸o̶p̶l̷e̷_** ** _._** **_They are eating everything. D̴e̸t̸r̵o̷i̸t̴ ̸h̸a̷s̷ ̶f̵a̸l̷l̴e̶n̴!_** **You can’t go out there!” the other voice, Markus, pleaded.**

**“I have to. I must contact with D̸r̴.̴ ̶S̴o̸.̸.̷?̵k̶ to contain this disaster. Whatever the cost. I always complete m̷y̷ ̸m̴i̵s̸s̷i̷o̴n̵.”**

**> >AUDIO LOG ENDED. - 00:00:24**

_“... or. CONNOR_!” Aloy shouted, shaking his shoulders vigorously. Connor blinked a couple more times before staring right into Aloy’s emerald eyes, full of worry and concern.

“Are you okay, Connor? You were totally out of your mind and started shaking everywhere!” she explained, relief in her voice. “Maybe I shouldn’t have given you that thing. I’m sorry. You can give it back if you don’t want it.” 

Was that really happening when that audio log was playing in his mind?

Connor had his mouth open, but was unable to think of any words. He was overwhelmed by that message he listened too. Yes, the neon lights and information had quickly appeared around him as soon the cryptic log had ended, but it was so much to process in such little time. 

“... No.” He covers his ear to hide the device. “No, I’m fine. Let’s find a way out of here.” 

Aloy didn’t trust Connor’s insistence, but she went along with it for now. 

With their newfound gadget, they used it to their absolute maximum capability. Connor discovered new logs— both written and in audio— from various people. Skykar Rivera, Ella Pontes, Jackson Frye, and another with a name just like his. Connor Chasson.

The ruins proved to be so much bigger than he initially thought. All of whom are long dead, nothing left but their frail clothes and bones. 

“What’s that?”

Connor turned his head, watching Aloy slowly trotting her way to a corpse. Connor tapped his device, it seems that it had a video log recorded beside the body. 

_‘A Hologram Datapoint,_ ’ the device tells the two outcasts in bold letters.

A few seconds later, the datapoint glows and emits a hologram of a man. Connor came back to Aloy, intrigued by this hologram.

_“You think I want it this way? It’s the best I can do! Wait_ _— he’s right behind you!”_ the man hustled, it looked like he was talking to someone else before this ‘Isaac’ appeared before him. 

_“Hi!”_ the man waved, his smile looked both genuine but sad. Aloy and Connor looked behind their backs, expecting to see something… but nothing happened. Their focus went back to the hologram man.

_“Happy birthday, Isaac!”_ Who was Isaac? _“Daddy sure does love his little big man.”_ He points to nothing, but Connor assumes it must be Isaac.

A second later, the man had a strange hat attached to his head. 

_“Look, Daddy can’t be here with you and Mom, but we can still have a party, right? Sure we can!"_ he pulls out some kind of weird, horn contraption that creates a funny sound. He smiles after blowing on it, which makes Aloy and Connor smile. The datapoint ended in 00:23 seconds. 

“Show me… Show me again!” Aloy swipes her hand to reset the datapoint once, watching the recording in bliss. 

Connor on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel sad for this man, and for many others whose bodies remain in these ruins. While Aloy was occupied with the recording, Connor took the liberty to explore more. 

Listening to these data points made Connor question even more. If one thing was common, it was all how all of them were expecting an impending doom. But from what? Connor could not understand.

Like that recording he first heard when he equipped that glowing triangle. He only knew one name from that recording. Markus. 

“Who is Markus?” He asked himself. Just saying that name felt… familiar to him. But not at the same time. He curled his hands into a fist. He did not like not knowing things.

Connor sees Aloy also listening to the recordings of the deceased. The more she listened to them, the more her frown intensified. 

“Why did they die here? What happened to them?” 

That was an answer Connor couldn’t answer. 

For what seemed like an eternity, there was that familiar voice echoing down from above. 

“ALOY! Aloy, are you down there! ALOY!” 

The red-haired gasped in surprised, her frown quickly turning to a smile. She starts running to the direction of the voice. 

“He found me! Rost found me!” Aloy began ascending a flight of rocks, each second meant finding a way out. 

“Down here! I’m coming!” Aloy briefly forgot Connor who was right behind her and felt a little bad. “We’re coming!” 

With the final stack of rocks climbed over, the two were greeted with a much older, sturdy looking man which was Rost. Connor could tell this man meant business, with his forearms, calves and shoulder clad in machine armor. The blue-eyed outcast extends his arm for Aloy, but stops when he sees Connor.

“You. You are Odd Grata’s boy. She’s been looking everywhere for you,” Rost informed. 

Looking back to Aloy, he reaches out again.

“Come girl! Take my hand. I will grab the boy next.” Aloy hesitates leaving, looking back at the ruins of the Metal World. Rost frowns and gestures his hand for the girl. 

“You don’t belong down there! Come!” Rost urged. 

The second time worked for Aloy, grabbing Rost’s hand without pause. Connor was the next to be lifted up.

Rost kneels down, with a both worried and angry face. 

“Such places are forbidden, Aloy,” Rost turns to Connor. “And Odd Grata will not be happy when she finds out where you went.” 

Connor was afraid to make Aloy’s guardian more disappointed, so he refrained from saying anything. But Aloy is quick to defend the brown-haired boy.

“He went after me after I fell in! He tried to help me—”

“Such places are forbidden, you two!” Rost cut off, shaking his head. “They are of the Metal World—” He stops to see that device Aloy had just above her ear. “What is that on your face?”

Aloy was quick to cover her ear where Rost pointed at. 

“Nothing…” she lied, albeit poorly.

“Did you… find it in there?”

When Aloy didn’t answer Rost, he tried to grab the device from her head, to which she quickly recoiled and shook her head.

“No.” 

Rost furrows his eyebrow in irritation. Connor has remained silent, he felt awkward being between the two, feeling out of place. Until the older man turned his attention to him. 

“You as well! Such things are dangerous—!” Rost rose up before finishing his sentence, walking towards Connor. The boy gulped, he too hid the triangular device with his hand, walking a few steps back. _He didn’t want to lose this—_

“No!” 

Connor’s free hand was grabbed by Aloy, as the two stumbled further from Rost’s reach. He was silently thankful for Aloy doing that. 

Rost halted as the three each had a silent staredown. Aloy with a determined look, eyes squinting to her superior. 

Realizing he would not win this fight, Rost concedes with a sigh. 

“Well,” the older outcast grabs his spear from the ground and turns to Aloy. “If you’re going to go sneaking away from home, you’re going to need to know how to survive in the wild.” 

“And you” Rost points to Connor. “We will take you home to Odd Grata first. If she is feeling generous, I may be able to teach you as well.”

Connor’s stomach was being filled with butterflies, the thought of knowing how to fend for himself excites him. 

“Come, you two. Home now,” Rost walks away from the ruins, back north. “But starting tomorrow, you learn to hunt.” Said to Aloy. 

Aloy smiles, with her hand still holding Connor’s, the two children began following Rost.

“Come on, Connor! Let’s go!”

—

“All-Mother, you were gracious and kind to bring back that which holds dearest to me, my heart ached as the grass danced all by its lonesome,” Grata praised. Late at night, when Connor finally returned home thanks to Rost and Aloy. 

“Yes, I’m sorry Grata. It won’t happen anymore,” Connor answered, knowing Grata will reply with her usual cryptic responses.

“So sleep, All-Mother advises. Do not stray from her path again.” 

“But Grata, I have one question to ask.”

“What is this voice of the All-Mother that speaks to me?” Grata questioned, still sitting under her tent, meditating as Connor sits besides her. 

“Rost has offered to train me with Aloy. I want to ask you if that’s okay,” Connor waited for an answer. Her prolonged silence made the boy tense, but finally relaxed as he listened. 

“All-Mother, her light shines upon those with great potential. I hear your heroic tales, and with your blessing then I will not be afraid. Go forth, and do what you must do.” 

To Connor, that meant he got the OK.

Smiling, he returns to his own little tent, his bed becoming more comfortable the longer he lays on it. 

Today wasn’t so bad after all. He made a new friend, and discovered secrets of the past he cannot ignore. But baby steps, he told himself. Starting with the hunt tomorrow. 

E̵N̶T̷E̶R̴I̵N̷G̸ ̶S̵T̵A̵S̴I̶S̸.̶.̶.̷

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stop thinking how well Horizon Zero Dawn and Detroit: Become Human would go well together, considering their stories are heavy on machines and futuristic times. So this is my self-indulgent fanfic crossover but you're welcome to read and give your thoughts about it.
> 
> If you played HZD, then you're more likely to understand the plot faster than those who have not. But if you only played one or the other, you're in for a wild ride. Enjoy!


	2. First Hunt

Sunrise caked Connor’s eyes, making the boy groan in annoyance. When the birds chirped on the trees there was no way of going back to sleep. Begrudgingly, he rises from his bed, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision. 

Grata wasn’t in her tent. But the boy did see she left a meal near the fireplace, at least Grata left some breakfast for him. 

_ ‘She must have gone to pray at the East Overlook, _ ’ Connor concluded. 

Recollecting what happened yesterday, excitement came back to the outcast when he realized he was supposed to meet with Aloy and Rost for hunting. No longer he felt moody for getting out of his bed. 

Properly cleaning himself, washing his hair as he combed his sweet chocolate locks with care. Grata left a plate of berries and seared rabbit meat coated with pepper seasoning. It was good enough for him, Connor thought. He enjoyed his food while listening to the dying cackle of the campfire, and the birds singing out in the skies. 

Consuming the last of his berries, Connor goes to wash his plate. The advantages of being a thoughtful listener meant the boy was taught good manners. Connor never saw a reason to ever be rude to people. At least, when they were nice to him. 

Between the morning sun glowing on his home, the river from afar clashing with stones creating fierce waves, he never realized just how beautiful the world around him was. During his time down in the ruins, it was filled with such dread. Cold, rustic, and lonely. 

Connor couldn’t possibly think why the Old Ones would prefer to die in these dark, isolated bunkers. Maybe they had a reason. But why build something so morbid? Were they hiding from something? Or… someone? 

That audio log he heard, from Markus, had struck something deep inside him. Unlike the Holograph Datapoint with the Dad celebrating his son’s birthday, not being able to see the visuals between Markus and the other mysterious person bordering a meltdown was… unsettling. 

The audio log was too corrupted to hear some words. Most notably, whoever the person Markus was talking to.

He shakes his head. There was no point in getting lost in his thoughts, not when they are left unanswered. Connor had a hunting lesson to attend to. 

Footsteps are heard by the boy’s ears. And further from the stairs of his camp was Rost. 

Rost always did look intimidating to Connor. His armor from deceased machines certainly helps his rugged aura.

“I’ve come to get you, boy. Aloy is waiting for you,” Rost speaks. 

Connor hops off from his chair and kicks some dirt to what’s left of the campfire, officially casting the flames away. Before departing with Rost, he grabbed the triangular device and firmly placed it just above his right ear. 

With that, the two journeyed to Rost’s Hovel west of where they are.

“Did you really try to save Aloy when she fell?” Rost broke the silent. Connor hummed, nodding.

“Yes, but it didn’t go so well. The children refused to interact with her. That’s why she ran,” the boy muttered quietly. 

Connor hears the man huff in annoyance, shaking his head. Whispering to himself, “Foolish girl...” 

If Connor was being honest, he was glad that Aloy fell into that ruin. They wouldn’t have discovered secrets of the Metal World. And after getting their new gadgets, see reality augmented in ways they couldn’t imagine. He wouldn’t change any of that.

“You did not seek the friendship of those children?” asked Rost. 

The brown-haired boy had to think for a minute to answer the man’s question. It was true he cared little for their acceptance. He only happened to be there because he strayed a bit too far than what Grata would have liked. 

“No… They were not my intention. And one of them I do not like,” Connor grimaced at the memory of Bast. 

Rost stopped asking questions after that, more focused on hiking on the trail to his Hovel. Connor was grateful for the silence. 

Snowflakes latched onto Connor’s nose, making him pause for a moment, looking at the sky in confusion and wonder. Not far is a lodge, its mighty structure towers over the hill. The higher they climbed, the colder it became. They must have arrived at Rost’s Hovel. 

His theory proved true, as Rost went to enter the lodge, though the boy doesn’t know why. 

Connor’s eyes lit up as he saw Aloy sitting on a log not far from the lodge. She had her device activated — the familiar neon lights with ancient symbols, information. 

“All these shapes. What do they mean…?” She stopped her experiments when her eyes locked with those familiar brown eyes.

“Connor! Come here!” She waved back, then patting the hardwood on the log with more room. Connor happily obliged accompanying the red-haired. 

Soon as he sat next to Aloy, she activated her gadget once more, allowing the purple and blue highlights to engulf the two. While the augmented information was too corrupted to decipher, the symbols were aligned, like a category. 

One in the shape of a bubble with a notch hanging down. That always happened when dialogue was involved— both audio and videos. Other symbols were more ambiguous and eluded the children. 

“Turn on yours. You might see something that I won't,” Aloy hinted, wanting Connor to join the fun. 

He shuffles his fingers together, lips pursed and unsure. The last time he turned it on, he was a first-hand witness to a very disturbing audio log. 

But it left him questioning what the audio log was about. With Aloy’s encouragement and his curiosity unsatisfied, he inhales a deep breath, before tapping his device to turn on.

**L̴O̶A̵D̴I̶N̶G̶**

**̷**

**̵M̸o̸d̸e̷l̵ ̷R̷?2?!#**

**̵S̶E̷R̵I̵A̸L̷ ̴#̷:̴ ̷#̷6̶ &̸4̸ ̶@̴4̶*̸ ̷9̸7̵!̶**

**I̵N̵I̴T̵I̸A̶T̶I̴N̵G̸ ̴O̷S̴.̴.̷.̷ ̵C̸O̶M̴P̷L̸E̴T̷E̵.̷**

**̸S̴T̶A̶T̴U̷S̷ ̷O̵F̶ ̴B̸I̵O̶C̸O̸M̸P̶O̴N̷E̵N̷T̴S̶.̷.̷.̴ ̴O̵K̵**

**> > INITIATING RECORDING SESSION… OK**

**̷**

**̴M̷E̵E̵T̶I̶N̶G̷ ̴W̷I̴T̶H̴ ̷T̴?̴d̶ ̴F̸ &̴R̷*̶**

**DATE RECORDED: [06/04/2040]**

**“Mr. ̷?̸!̷R̶O̸, the people of J̶E̴R̸i̶$̶#̷O̷ ̷ have some concerns regarding your ‘G̸r̶e̶e̴n̵ ̵R̵o̵b̴o̵t̸s̴’,” a familiar voice, Markus.**

_ ‘Markus!’ _ thought Connor. Here his voice was much more calm than the previous log.

**“I assure you, they are for the benefit of the Earth, ” Mr. ̷?̸!̷R̶O̸ comforts.**

This wasn’t the voice Connor remembered from the last audio log. It was deeper, more gruff. 

**“You said these… ‘ro̵b̵o̷t̸s̵’, consume ‘biomass’. What do you mean by biomass?” Markus inquired, his voice seemed cautious.**

**“The simplest definition of ‘consuming biomass’, is the conversion of organic matter to fuel. Like flora and fauna. I know you A̵!̷D̸r̴@̷i̴d̶$̷ run on T̶h̴i̸r̵i̴u̷m̵, and I promise you these m̴a̸c̶h̸i̴n̸e̵s̶ will not harm your supply of life,” Mr. ̷?̸!̷R̶O̸ explains.**

Connor frowned.  _ ‘You…? Your supply of life?’ _ He didn’t know some other words that felt important. Why did he refer to Markus like that? Was Markus not human? It didn’t make sense. 

**“I understand. Ultimately, Mr. ̷?̸!̷R̶O̸, all cases regarding the use of m̴a̸c̶h̸i̴n̸e̵s̶ creations to the public must have the approval of the J̶E̴R̸i̶$̶#̷O̷ ̷ Council. Please give us a week to assess your project,” Markus concluded.**

**“I look forward to making the Earth more greener, Markus.”**

**> > AUDIO LOG ENDED. -00:01:11**

“... _ ello?  _ ... Hello? You’re doing that thing again, Con,” Aloy was the first to break his trance, waving her hand in front of his face.

Again, the familiar neon lights appear when the log finishes. Connor shuts his eyes and exhales slowly. Aloy didn’t seem to get these logs like him. Why was it only applying to him? Instead of answers, more questions climb on top of one another. 

Connor would have answered Aloy, had they not been interrupted by Rost with two bows. 

The device scanned the strange equipment in front of the children, and designated its name as  _ ‘BOW’ _ . 

“Take your bows,” Rost ordered. 

The two children took it without hesitation, with Aloy staring at it longer. Her own device must be registering the weapon too.

“Bow…?” Aloy repeated, more to herself than to Rost. Right on cue, the older outcast huffs at her absent-minded behavior. 

“Enough muttering to that plaything,” Rost begins descending on the stairs he and Connor tirelessly hiked through. “We descend to the valley now. Follow.” 

With little options to consider, the two children nodded at one another and followed in Rost’s tracks. 

Their way to the valley was nothing short of beautiful. Leaves on the trees rustled among another, the small creeks adorned in pebbles slowly eroding in time, and the cotton-candy skies that reign over them, and specks of pollen danced with each other… It was a gorgeous sight to Connor. 

“Hey, Connor… What do you see when you turn on your thing? Every time I see you use it, it’s almost like you don’t exist. It’s kind of scary,” Aloy whispered to Connor, making sure Rost didn’t hear her. 

Connor debated if he wanted to tell Aloy his little… cryptic logs that serve no purpose but to be confusing. 

He didn’t see why it would hurt to tell his friend. She was probably the only one who understood him, besides Grata. 

“I hear…” Connor paused, wording his next sentence carefully. “... People talk. It’s scary, but it’s more strange than scary. I keep hearing Markus’s voice.”

“Markus?”

“One of the voices I hear sometimes.” 

“Oh,” Aloy shifts her eyes to the rabbits hopping away into the wild grass. “If anything scares you, you can talk to me, you know. We’re friends, right?” 

A̵L̷O̸Y̴:̵ ̸F̸R̵I̸E̶N̷D̶ ̷▲̷̴̴̴̴̵̶̴̶̱͐̐̃͠

Connor was taken aback by such kindness. A smile escapes from his lips.

“Yeah… We’re friends.”

“If you two are done gossiping,” Rost added in, looking behind the mischievous children. “We have a hunt to catch.” 

Looking beyond, they see an outpost, which must be constructed by the Nora tribe. 

“The wilds can be dangerous, you two. You will need to stay close and do as I say,” Rost commanded. Aloy sighs, nodding her head. 

“I know.”

“Now, you’re still scratched up from that fall you took yesterday, so let’s start there,” Rost brings out two pouches and hands them to Aloy. “Take these medicine pouches. I’ll show you how to fill it.”

Aloy handed the extra pouch to Connor who muttered a small “Thank you.” They equip their new satchels onto their belts.

Rost walks past them to a small bush of herbs next to the dirt path. 

“See this plant over here?” He points to the herbs. “It’s called Salvebrush. Come gather its berries in your pouch.” 

The two trotted over to the Salvebrush bush and took turns collecting its berries until their pouches were full of it. 

“Good. Now eat the berries.” 

Aloy was not expecting the berries to be so bitter. As her mouth tasted the plant, she immediately recoiled in disgust, her face scrunched and conflicted. Connor couldn’t help but giggle as he ate his. He’s had his fair share of eating bitter berries with Grata. 

“Blech!”

Rost doesn’t seem disturbed by Aloy’s misery. 

“They may taste bitter, but they can save your life. Always keep your pouch full of medicinal berries, flowers, and plants,” Rost advises. The three resumed walking on the dirt path, letting mother nature take its course. A flock of birds fly past as Connor watches in awe.

“Where are we?” asked Aloy. 

“This valley is just a part of All-Mother’s Embrace,” Rost answered, shooing away dragonflies near their vicinity.

For all that Connor knew, he never understood why Nora, outcasts like Rost and Grata included, worshiped this ‘All-Mother’ so much. He wondered if All-Mother is an actual person, or something mythical that cannot be touched yet gives so much. Maybe that’s why the people come to sing her songs. 

“Embrace…?” Aloy squints her eyes, confusion written all over the young girl’s face. 

“The Nora tribe watches these lands, and keeps out the most dangerous machines— usually,” the older outcast replies, putting Aloy’s confusion to rest. 

Connor lets out an interesting hum. His eyes look up to the man.

“What kind of machines?” Chimed Connor, speaking for the first time since they left the Hovel. 

“In time, you will see them,” Rost said. 

“Can humans be machines too?” Connor blurted out, before realizing his mistake and closing his mouth with his hands. 

Rost shoots him a frown, unsure of how to respond before shaking his head. Connor got the memo to not say such ridiculous things. 

“That would be pretty cool! Imagine human machines, but like, they're super nice!” Aloy entertained.

_ ‘Humans as machines…’ _ Somehow, that doesn’t seem as far fetched as Connor thought. And it made him more intrigued than he should be.

“Enough speaking nonsense, you two,” the voice of Rost made their imagination come to a halt. He gestures down to the river streaming below. “Further downriver, we’ll find a herd of machines, and I will teach you how to hunt.” 

“Are they dangerous?” Aloy tilts her head. She was always curious about the world. 

“All machines are dangerous, Aloy. Their power must be respected. But I will be besides you,” Rost assured the little girl. They work their way upwards the path until Rost stops moving. The older man crouches and hushes the children.

“Hmm. A machine’s coming. Crouch, and follow me to the grass,” Rost ordered, continuing to move on. The two children followed in pursuit, slowing down once they arrived in the sea of red wild grass. Rost extends his arm, blocking the children from advancing any further. 

“There. Now stay low.”

“Little ones!” Aloy pointed her fingers out in the distance. Connor looked up, his eyes widening.

And there it is, a machine.

Bipedal in shape, akin to a Theropod dinosaur, the machine jerks its inorganic head, the glowing eye being its biggest distinction. Armored mechanical plates etched from its head, to the spine and waist. While it lacked limbs, it was nothing short from being intimidating. It moves methodically, blue light emitting from the machine, its ocular visionary scanning the area disturbs Connor. 

“No, Aloy. Such machines are called Watchers,” Rost corrected. “You must learn to avoid their gaze, if you are to survive in the wilds. I will show you. Listen close, and do as I do.” 

The watcher moved closer and closer to the trio, making the boy sweat and gulp, not daring to say a word. Its height, far taller than both Aloy and Connor should the machine stand on its hind legs.

“Stay still. Wait for it to pass.” Rost ordered. 

Waiting for the Watcher to pass felt more like an eternity than ten seconds, but by then the Watcher was well away from the three. Rost tip-toed his way to the next batch of Tall Grass.

“Now keep low, and follow me across the trail to the Tall Grass.”

No hesitation was made when the children followed their mentor, making sure to be as silent as they could. A sigh of relief came from Connor the moment they felt that familiar Tall Grass again. Rost stops them once more, with a Watcher creeping behind the rock.

“Ho, another one. Let it pass.” 

With the Watcher strolling its way out of their sight, Connor took the opportunity to tap his device on. 

Augmented reality came back to him, this time with no audio log. Not that Connor mattered, he was much more intrigued how certain things were highlighted. Aloy and Rost were colored blue. The Watcher is only highlighted by its exterior in purple. 

Certain parts of its body were also highlighted, focusing on very specific details about the machine.

_ ‘Focus…’ _ Connor thought momentarily. This device he used did like to focus on the niche details in his environment. He decided he would call the gadget a ‘ _ Focus _ ’ from now on. 

“Come back, this way,” Augmented reality soon disappeared when Connor heard Rost speak. Aloy and Rost were already on the move, making the boy scuttle with haste. “The slower you move, the quieter you’ll be. And crouched walking is quieter than upright.” 

They reached another batch of Tall Grass, with one more Watcher a few meters ahead. Its elongated neck turned to their direction, blue light equally matching the color of Connor’s scarf. It walks in synchronized steps. No second too late, too fast.

“Wait for it.” 

And they did. All six pairs of eyes intently watching the Watcher, moving to the right farther and farther until it was too far to see it. 

“That’s the last of them, let’s move on,” Rost finally said, now properly standing. 

A moment of respite was a moment Connor will gladly take. 

“You two did well,” Rost complimented. Aloy felt a little tingle of pride swell inside her, praise from her guardian was rare. “They didn’t see or hear you. Now stay close. That herd should be just ahead.”

Rarely does Connor ever get to see the machine so up close, filling him with both fear and wonder. As long as they are careful, he can enjoy the sights of the creatures in peace. 

Tumble of rocks and footsteps makes the outcasts look up at the cliffs.

A young adolescent boy bravely climbing up the walls of the cliffs— smooth and agile like a spider. Aloy cements his presence by pointing a finger at the agile boy.

“Who’s that?” She asked. Rost’s eyes glare at the reckless Nora boy. 

“Ignore him,” Rost spat.

“But why is he up there?” Aloy was more intrigued in the boy’s antics than Rost was. Up in the cliffs he held a log tightly, swinging his body to kick some momentum before gracefully landing on another log connecting the two cliffs together. His right eye gets a glimpse of the trio and turns to meet them. 

The boy smiles, Aloy noticing immediately and smiles back.

“He’s smiling at us!” She says, waving her arm eagerly. Connor didn’t smile, but he shot an awkward hand wave. 

But their meeting was cut short, as another voice bellowed from above. 

“Teeeeeeeeb! Get back where you belong!” The voice yelled. “Teb! Where are you?” That was enough for Teb (His name, perhaps?) to jump onto the next set of rocks, vanishing. Silence fills the small valley. 

“Ignore him. We are outcasts, and he is of the tribe,” the older outcast states.

“Maybe he doesn’t  _ like _ the tribe,” Aloy countered, her lips pouting.

“Then he is a fool,” Rost descends on a flight of rocks and dirt. “Come now, let’s find that herd. Follow.” Over the view lies bridges, and just up ahead was a herd of machines, just like Rost said. 

“There. See them? These are called “Striders”,” Rost informed. 

This time, the machines didn’t look so scary as the Watchers they encountered earlier. Instead of bipedal creatures, Striders resembled something more like an equidae and quadrupedal, with green canisters attached to their backs. They were still armed with steel plates which did not look easy to break. 

Connor tapped his Focus on to register the creatures onto his device. He nudged Aloy’s elbow.

“Turn on your Focus.” He whispered.

Aloy gave him a puzzled look.

“Focus?”

“It’s what I think our device is called. But turn it on,” Connor urged. Aloy did it within seconds and was blown away by what she saw. Their blue LEDs shine, standing out against the real nature around them. As they continue to register more data in their Focuses, Rost walks up to the herd of Striders. 

Connor did not expect Rost to use his more authoritative, booming voice.

“HA! GIT!” 

No second later, the herd of Striders immediately packed in and bolted away. Their mechanical hooves marking the dirt, dust flying as a result of the sudden intrusion. 

“Why’d you chase them off?” Aloy blinked, shocked at Rost’s yell. The two catch up to the man after crossing the second bridge.

“To show you how some machines startle easily if they detect you, and run away. They are best approached by stealth,” He continues. “Don’t worry. We’ll catch up with them further down the valley. You’ll see.”

Not long after, Rost ordered the two to gather as many rocks and medicinal plants as they could. They weren’t sure why the rocks were needed, but they knew better than to question Rost on their first hunt. Aloy proposed she would gather the rocks and Connor would collect the plants. Connor nodded and sought whatever herbs he could find.

Once they collected all the things for their hunt, Rost is seen kneeling down just a few meters away from a moderate height cliff. It was the herd of Striders, with Watchers patrolling the area. 

“There’s the herd,” Rost motions his hand at the rocks Aloy held. “All right, now it’s time to throw some rocks.” 

“Rocks are not strong enough to take down a machine,” Connor said, frowning at the cup-sized pebbles.

“No, they are not, but they can distract them, draw them into traps,” Rost points his spear towards a Watcher patrolling. “Like that Watcher over there. It must be dealt with, or it will warn the herd and send them running before we get in range.” 

Connor studied the Watcher, the machine blissfully unaware of the trip on the ridge. Turning his Focus on, the gadget gave the option to observe its track pattern. It was an interesting mechanic, maybe one he could use in the future.

“So, the machines can communicate with one another, just like us to people,” Connor observed.

“Correct,” Rost then descends down to the area with machines, making the children tense. “You two stay here on the ridge. On my signal, throw rocks and draw the Watcher over to me.”

Leaping off the edge swiftly, Rost lands on the ground and dives into the Tall Grass. Aloy was right about to throw the rock until Connor blocks her with his hand. 

“Rost said to wait on his signal. And… let me try something,” Connor said. Aloy stares at her friend, expecting a response but her eyebrows piqued in interest as he turned on his Focus again. His device indicated where the pebble should be thrown at.

Few seconds later, Rost whistled at Aloy. 

“Aloy, throw a rock near me!” 

Connor pointed at the direction to where Aloy needed to throw the rock at. 

“Down there, a few meters north,” her friend said. Aloy wasted no time executing a flawless throw of the rock. 

The LED of the Watcher’s eye immediately glowed yellow. Connor’s focus registered a small yellow question mark at the machine. It definitely caught its attention. Little did the Watcher know, slowly marching its way towards the source of that rock led to its inevitable death through Rost’s spear penetrating its heart. 

Mechanical cries were erratic and became more static as the Watcher took its last breath, electricity exerting out of its body unable to sustain such damage. 

Retrieving his spear from the machine carcass, Rost looked up to the children and nodded his head.

“There. Come, you two. It’s safe now.”

Aloy was amazed by how quickly Rost took down the machine, but Connor peeked over, horrified and grossed out witnessing the machine’s deactivation. Nonetheless, he followed Aloy to where Rost and the former Watcher stood. 

Burnt, charred remains of the Watcher continued to cackle even after death. Rost then taught them how to make arrows, with the use from ridgewood and leftover scraps from the machine that weren’t destroyed. Ridgewood was used to be the shaft for the arrow, while metal shards are meant for the arrowhead.

With the Watcher no longer able to warn the Strider herd, they were completely vulnerable to the trio. Aloy had her bow and arrow equipped, ready for combat. 

“We will start with you first, Aloy. It is time to make your first kill,” Rost congratulated, a hint of pride in his voice.

A lone Strider is eating the grass, oblivious of what its fate will become.

“A Strider. One of the weaker machines,” Rost pointed out to the peaceful Strider. “But even a weak machine can kill a hunter—” Color briefly escaped Aloy momentarily. “—If she is careless. You must study your prey. Its hide is thick, but there are spots where it is vulnerable— like its eye. Can you guess another?”

‘Hmm… it’s weak spots…’ Connor rubbed his chin, examining the Strider ahead of them. Logically speaking, the only way to find a machine’s weak spot is to consistently test out parts of its armor to see which are more thinner than others.

Then Connor remembered how the Focus showed statistics of the machines.

Gently grabbing Aloy’s shoulder, the little girl turns back with an eyebrow raised. While not talking, Connor tapped his Focus, showing what Aloy should be doing. 

She got the memo quickly, and turned her Focus on. 

“The canister on its back— is that its weakness?”

Rost eyes widened with surprise and content. 

“Yes. How did you guess that?” 

Aloy triumphantly showed her Focus to Rost, and gave a wink to Connor. 

“Connor showed me! Our devices can show us,” Aloy beamed.

Rost resisted the urge to lecture Aloy, careful not to scare the Strider away but settled for a quiet snap.

“That plaything? Stop playing games,” Rost moved on to the topic at hand. “Now take down that Strider. Target the eye, or the canister. And if it charges, be ready to roll out of the way.” 

‘ _ This was it, _ ’ Aloy thought excitedly. slowly drawing her bow. It will be her own kill and nobody can take it away from her.

Holding her breath, she nocks her arrow, aiming directly at the Strider’s eye. And her arrow flies, shooting into the eye of the Strider.

Connor was tempted to help Aloy out, but not long did Aloy draw her second arrow out to shoot the Strider’s canister, falling unceremoniously to the ground. The red LED of the Strider eye meant it knew it was being attacked, but there was little it could do before one more arrow brought down the machine for good, the remains of the armored plate collapsed. The herd fled, but she did not care.

Soon after collecting the carcass’s remains, Aloy turned to Rost and Connor, face hopeful for approval. 

Connor gave the red-haired a thumbs up and a warm smile. 

“You did it, Aloy! That was amazing!” Connor applauded. Rost was much more subtle, but he couldn’t hide the small smile from his lips. 

“You did well today, but you still have much to learn. Now it is Connor’s turn to—”

An ear piercing scream echoes throughout the valley. All their heads looked beyond, alerted and tense.

“What was that?” Rost uttered. But Aloy knew exactly whose voice it belonged to, and her stomach dropped.

“Teb… that’s the boy’s name. That’s his scream...” Connor mumbled in horror.

“The one from the brave trails? Oh no…” Aloy gasped.

“Follow, you two! Quick!” the older outcast began bolting through the Tall Grass, water splashing violently from footsteps of the trio. A second of running meant one second more of the boy being in grave danger. 

By the time they reach another ridge, there lies the boy on the cliffs, struggling to hold onto the rocks. What made it worse, the very herd of Striders they hunted were directly under Teb. Little could be done when Teb could no longer hold onto the ledge, and was sent down with a terrified screech. 

Connor winced with each crash Teb collided with the rocks, and the hard landing on the ground sent the Strider into yellow light. Metal cries in confusion, soon turned to caution. The Striders were no longer acting as peaceful as they were. 

The brown-haired outcast looked up to Rost, begging for some intervention. 

“Isn’t there  _ anything _ you can do?” Connor pleaded. He did not want to see Teb suffer an awful death. Aloy attempted to jump down before being halted by Rost, who was shaking his head solemnly. 

“I can do nothing,” Rost expressed, pain evident in his voice. “It’s only a matter of time before the machines find that boy and kick him to death. But if I shoot, it will cause a stampede and it will trample him.” 

‘No, there has to be another way,’ Connor thought, his lips pursing. If he could only r̶e̶c̵o̴n̴s̸t̸r̶u̴c̷t̶ a scenario… or something, anything! 

He wasn’t paying attention to Aloy scanning the area with her Focus, looking at the paths the Striders took. 

“But I can see the paths they take!” She refuted. Connor felt silly for not thinking that idea sooner. 

“Stop telling stories!” Rost hissed.

“She is not lying, we can see things with this device” Glared Connor, gesturing to his Focus. 

“And I can sneak through. I can do it!” Aloy added. She was ready to make the second jump before Rost grabbed her shoulder. 

“ _ You will not _ !” 

Aloy, for all her stubbornness and determination, gave her guardian that ‘ _ Try me _ ’ look before rolling down the cliffs, into the Tall Grass. But not without Rost barely grasping her back and only getting her bow, now leaving Aloy truly defenseless. 

Rost and Connor only looked in horror as Aloy became just as vulnerable to being killed as Teb.

L̶E̶V̴E̶L̵ ̸O̶F̵ ̸S̷T̴R̶E̸S̵S̷:̵ ̸7̷8̷%̴

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 minutes of gameplay in HZD is already a 4k word chapter. This is going to be a long journey.
> 
> I have a good idea of how DBH plays into the story, but that won't come for a long, long time. To those who read this fic, I hope you like the second chapter!


	3. The Zen Garden

Stress was never a feeling Connor felt so strongly, until Aloy went headfirst into the bowel of the valley full of Striders… and Watchers.

L̶E̶V̴E̶L̵ ̸O̶F̵ ̸S̷T̴R̶E̸S̵S̷:̵ ̸7̷8̷%̴

This was not the time to be having thoughts such as these. Angrily, the boy swatted the words out of his mind, too focused on the well being of his friend. Seeing her turn on her Focus made him realize she was analyzing the machines’ tracks. 

A small weight from Connor’s shoulders have been relieved. At least she wasn’t going in blind.

He hears Rost cursing under his breath, muttering “ _You foolish girl…_ ” but there was no tone of anger, only worry.

Even still, the girl had to be extremely careful around the Watchers, patrolling the grass field like stalwart hounds. One misstep and there would be no more Aloy. His heart skips a beat as the red-haired moves from Tall Grass to Tall Grass, on her toes quietly sneaking away. 

No matter how much he tried to concentrate, Connor was unable to bring out his inner p̷r̴e̷c̵o̴n̷s̵t̷r̷u̵c̵t̶. He cursed at himself. Of all times he actually wanted that to happen, it only ever did so when his body deems okay. 

Bad turns to worse when Aloy unknowingly steps on a rather delicate branch, it’s crack echoing in the valley. Yellow lights strobe to the direction of the girl. 

L̴E̶V̶E̸L̷ ̶O̷F̶ ̸S̵T̸R̴E̸S̶S̴:̷ ̷8̶4̴%̶

Connor made the split second decision to find the remaining rocks Aloy left before she ventured down into the valley, and threw a rock close to his direction. Now their attention was to him, and they strolled their mechanical legs away from Aloy, a moment of respite. 

Aloy briefly disappeared behind rocks, leaving Rost and Connor to briefly panic, but completely subsided when the red-haired was back into view— with Teb right behind her!

Connor had to admit, he admired Aloy’s stubbornness and determination to save people. She was a one of a kind girl. Rost’s eyes soften; happy to see Aloy back with the boy who fell in one piece. Aloy still had to be careful on her way back, Watchers were no machines to be trifled with. 

The two on the cliff eagerly wait for a hand to reach the rocks, and finally, Aloy’s hand grabs the ridge as Connor lends out his hand to Teb who graciously accepts. Aloy is supported by the grip of her guardian as he returns her bow back, and touches the tip of her Focus curiously. 

“So… it is no plaything,” he commended.

Aloy couldn’t help but smile, proud of her accomplishment. Teb finally rose on his feet and looked at the red-haired outcast in pure gratitude. 

“Wait… All-Mother bless that girl. Bless you all,” Teb stuttered out. Due to tribal laws, the trio did not talk back, keeping their silence although it was evident Aloy contemplated replying back. That was, until the sound of multiple footsteps were heard from afar. Connor’s eyes looked up to see Nora Braves, clearly unhappy to see the circumstances happening upon them.

Teb was quick to notice, and gave the three a pleading look, knowing his mistakes but still going against everything his tribe stood for.

“She… she saved me.” Teb muttered. The Nora Braves are now within distance to hear their shouts.

“Boy!” 

The Nora boy attempted to speak again.

“I… I just wanted— “

“BOY! Seal your lips!” one Brave Veteran bellows, then glares to the three outcasts. “They are outcasts and _they_ ,” pointing at Aloy and Connor. “— They are motherless and fatherless.” Rost had his arms out in instinct, like a father protecting his own children from a threat.

Nobody talked back after the Brave Veteran lectured his kind and against the outcasts. Clearly having won dominance, he turns his back to their village. 

“Come now. Back to Mother’s Heart.” The Brave grabs Teb’s forearm and begins walking away, slapping his head during the process as Teb could do nothing but helplessly look at the outcasts until their silhouette are no longer in view. 

All three of them were quiet. Although the Brave was directing most of his spite to Teb, there was certain disgust against the children. Connor did not like that. It was unfair that they were treated this way.

S̶͈̱̺̖̒͋̋O̷̲̼̭̻̾F̷̥͈̲͒̀T̸̨͕̖̙̤͘W̷̖̹̗͑̃̾͛Ạ̵̡̣̦͘R̴̨̻͕̙̼̚͠Ȩ̵̢̟̭͉̽̌ ̵̠̓I̶̛͎͆̽̚N̵̤͈̗͉̕͘͝S̶̳͌̓̊͝T̷͎͓̅Ã̴̢̩̻͕͇̓̈͑B̷̰̼͍̾͌̈̄Į̶͙̺̈́̅̓̄̄Ĺ̵̨̗̳̣İ̸̭̮̗̕T̶̛͔̙̥̾Y̸͉͈̬͒̅ ̵̢̪͍͍▲̴̱͐̐̃͠

Less than a second lasted when Connor forced those thoughts out of his brain. 

“That boy should not have spoken to us, it is against tribal law,” Rost began softly, knowing that tensions were still high. He gently pats Aloy’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort the distraught girl. “We’ll go home now. Follow— “

Rost was cut short when Aloy stormed her way out to the dirt path. 

“I know the way,” Aloy snapped, not looking back at her guardian and her friend. While Connor was just as bitter, he felt more pity for the red-haired. Rost sighed, and waved Connor off forward to their homes. 

“Go with Aloy, keep her company. There is still the Strider Herd here and we don’t want another fool falling down on their path. I will be with you shortly, boy,” The older outcast advised. Connor saw no reason to object what Rost said. Pursing his lips, he nodded and promptly picked up his pace to catch up with Aloy.

Thankfully, she wasn’t too far. He can see her swishing her bow back and forth, huffing in annoyance. One thing is for sure, Aloy’s evening is nothing short of bad. A new pair of footsteps causes her to turn her back, at first tense but relaxed at the sight of Connor.

“Oh, hi Connor…” She quietly said, before walking again and muttering to herself. “Seal your lips, boy. Seal your lips…”

The boy was unsure of what to say. He’s never seen Aloy as frustrated as this, so he offers a small pat to her shoulder.

“It’ll be alright, Aloy…”

Aloy would think otherwise, frowning at her brown-haired friend. 

“But what if I don’t want to feel alright? Everything we do always makes everyone—”

Aloy never got to finish her sentence when a rock is thrown at her head, making the girl drop the bow. Connor gasped, keeping Aloy upright from falling to the ground. The two outcasts find the source of where the rock was thrown, coming from Bast— the child picking berries from yesterday, along with the same children behind him with his smirk. 

“Stay away, No-Mothers!” Bast taunted. He seemed to be the only one enjoying their misery, the other children behind him seem conflicted. The Nora boy grabbed another rock, tossing it up and down before shooting the rock directly at Connor this time. 

Connor was too preoccupied making sure Aloy was okay, so when his eyes turned at the rock hurdling his direction it was too late to react—

Aloy pushed Connor out of the way in order to grab the rock with her hand. All of the children blinked in surprise, especially Connor, feeling grateful and embarrassed simultaneously for his friend saving him a nasty wound. 

Bast knelt to the ground to pick up another rock. This time he was hellbent on not missing Connor again. The red-haired outcast gripped the pebble in her hands tightly, considering her options. Ultimately, she made the decision to drop her rock, not wanting to stoop as low as Bast. 

Which hardly mattered to Bast, ready to throw his rock until a Nora child behind him grabs his arm, preventing him from getting the last laugh. Bast brushed the child off angrily and resumed his initial action, until the Nora woman called them.

“Children, away from there! Back to picking berries!” 

Finally, the bully left the two alone. Connor was about to thank Aloy until he heard her sniffing. Connor gave the red-haired a short hug and a sad smile.

“It’s okay, Aloy… but thank you for saving me. You’re a really nice girl at heart.” Connor pauses, thinking his next words that are genuine. “I… aspire to have that same confidence as you one day,” the brown-haired outcast said thoughtfully. She didn’t answer outright, but her smile was enough for Connor to see she appreciates his gratitude.

No later than a few minutes, Rost finally approaches the two children and notices the bleeding on Aloy’s forehead. 

“You’re bleeding, let me have a look,” Rost takes out a linen cloth from his satchel and gently dabs Aloy’s forehead, allowing the blood to soak and slowly drain away from her skin. 

“Why?” Aloy finally whispered. Rost hushes the girl smoothly, attempting to mend her wounds but the girl refuses to back down.

“Why am I an outcast?” She says louder, gesturing her hand around all three of them. “ Why are _we_ outcasts?” She insisted, glaring. The older outcast sighs, knowing where this was going. It got Connor wondering too. All of their life, they were treated differently. An outcast simply because they had no parents to claim them? It was very backwards thinking, to Connor. 

There should be no reason to treat another human being of a lesser thing. All humans are capable of showing empathy, as long as they are treated the same way. It was very unfair.

“Aloy… this is not the time,” Rost breathed. 

“No,” Connor added, joining the conversation with a determined look. “I want to know too. We can’t do this all our whole life.” 

“We are outcasts—!”

“So how do we make them tell us!” Aloy demanded, the swell of emotions are now nothing short but conviction.

“The Matriarchs? There is a way, perhaps—”

“ _So tell us_!” 

Realizing there was no way for Rost to win the argument between the children, he concedes.

“The Proving, the tribe’s rite of passage, held every year. Those who pass become Braves, but to the one who wins it all— the Matriarchs grant a boon.” Rost explains, almost breathless after finishing his sentence. 

Aloy wasn’t hiding that hopeful look in her eyes. 

“A boon?”

“Yes, whatever the winner wants.” Rost pauses, looking back at the red-haired. “As long as it’s within their power, they will grant it.” 

No stopping Aloy now. She grabs her bow from the ground and smiles. She was ready to train to win the Proving by any means. For years she has been discriminated against by the tribe, and it’s time to put an end to this once and for all. 

“And you, boy” Rost turns to Connor, narrowing his eyes at him. “Only one person can win the Proving. What will you do if you do not win?” He asked, challenging the young boy. 

Connor had to be honest— he didn’t think that far and struggled to find an answer. Yes, it would be great to ask the High Matriarchs who his parents were, but if anything he felt Aloy was more worthy of asking that question for her own parents than him. He could wait at another time. 

“It won’t matter if I don’t win, I think Aloy wants this more than I do,” Connor stated, though there was uncertainty in his voice. 

“Then I’ll ask the Matriarchs to tell both of us when I win. Easy!” Aloy declared, not intending to leave her friend behind. Rost sighed exasperated while Connor giggled. Even when there’s no chance of him matching up to Aloy she will still think of him. 

“It would take years of training—”

“We don’t care. We will train,” Connor walks right next to Aloy, tightening the grip of his own bow. They were ready. With no other options but to give in into the children's demands, Rost grips his spear and with one final warning. 

“I see. We best get starting then,” the older outcast begins. “Your training will be hard, and it will take years.” 

Aloy grins, and without hesitation trots her way back to the Hovel, not caring to hide her newfound excitement. 

“Start training? Yes, follow,” She almost mimics Rost’s speech pattern. And off she went to begin her grueling, long journey to become stronger. 

“And you, boy,” Rost turns to Connor, who’s been quiet for most of the debate. “I see no reason not to train you, but you must go through with Odd Grata first,” He stated. 

Of course. This wasn’t a simple errand to be done in a day, it was a sequence that will take years and years to improve himself as a whole. With a simple nod, he walked back to Grata’s camp after a very long and stressful evening.

—

The soft cackle of fire brings music to Connor’s ears. Nighttime has arrived, with shades of pink scattered across the horizon to make a pretty cotton candy color. Grata was back from her praying, enjoying the fire she tended, before resuming her praying. 

It was something Connor was used to, being in silence with Grata occasionally asking him how his days were (through talking All-Mother of course, ever the pious woman she was), otherwise the boy had the entire day to himself so long as he doesn’t venture outside the Embrace. 

Which brings him back to asking the permission from Grata again. Except the permissions become significantly more substantial to his future. If he were honest, he was quite nervous about talking to the old woman. There really was no reason to be afraid, a simple talk can wash away all his concerns. 

Inhaling a deep breath, the little boy sits across from Grata at the bonfire, listening to the cracks and crickets chirping out in the lush woods. 

“Grata, may I ask you something?” Connor asks. Sure enough, Grata opens her eyes from deep meditation and looks up to the stars.

“The whispers of All-Mother call to me. What does she wish to tell me?” 

Typical Grata. Letting out an amused huff, Connor rubs his hands together in an attempt to catch some of the heat radiating from the quiet flames. He loved feeling warmth no matter where it came from. 

“Rost is going to train Aloy for the Proving. He’s offered to train me too, but… only if I have your blessing. So… can I? Please?” 

“All-Mother, your words have struck me through the heart. I pray and sing your name for your safety.” 

“I know. But I can’t be here forever. It would be a matter of time before I want to see the world, and learn about myself,” Connor countered, not willing to give up this conversation. Silence is replaced by owls now hooting, the sky no longer purple but a deep starry blue. 

A deep sigh is heard, as Connor perks his head up. 

“Of course, All-Mother. Your kind words overflow me with reassurance and love. I’ve no doubt you, filled with unbridled potential, can see even beyond what we mortals are capable of. Go forth, for I will be praying for your safety,” Grata praised, closing her eyes and holding her praying beads close to her heart.

Brown eyes are lit to amber from hearing those words lifted an immense weight on the boy's shoulders.

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

“The Goddess needs her rest. Away with dreams will help rejuvenate her power,” Grata said, alluding to the boy desperately needing some sleep. Connor couldn’t argue against that— he was utterly exhausted. From coming personal with machines and watching his friend almost die in a herd of Striders, he was ready to hit the hay.

Little hesitation was made. Getting up from the comforts of the ground, he retreats back to his tent and to his small but modest bed. He didn’t have a lot of decorations inside, save a few medicinal plants he gathered from earlier today and a couple of the trinkets he has found from the ruins. 

Tomorrow will be a new day, to start fresh and start his perilous journey. He yawns, eyelids becoming low and heavy. Sleep was eager to take over and he showed no resistance to it. The embrace of darkness welcomes him with warm arms.

_Years Later..._

“ **... I know you are there.** ” 

“ _What…_ ” Connor groaned in annoyance. He couldn’t even sleep in peace with something… or someone talking to him. Opening his eyes again, the outcast was back into his personal dreamland— not something created by his own volition. 

Cherry blossoms and ginkgo trees adorned the scenario, foreign bridges that Connor has never seen before. A small lake encompasses the garden. And in the distance lies a figure, but… the figure was too oddly shaped to resemble a real human. It almost looked...static and rigged.

The closer he walked to the mysterious light, the more clear it became. The figure was definitely a woman of African descent. She was dressed in odd clothes, adorned with a blue toga and white pants with bits of white on her wrists and collarbone. Everything about this woman felt… futuristic. Connor could not tell all of the colors since her entire form is a transparent blue. Everything about her gave him uncomfortable vibes.

“ **Identify yourself** ,” The vague voice said, her tone unknowingly harsh.

“Uh… Connor,” The outcast answered with caution. She looked at Connor closely and glared. 

“ **Improbable. You have his face but you are not Connor**.”

“I’m pretty sure I know my name, thank you?” Connor tried his best not to sound offended.

“ **RK800 serial #313 248 317 - 51 has been deactivated since 974 years ago, its last activation date was February 2nd, 2066,** ” She stated, her face still devoid of emotion. It only made Connor more confused. 

“RK800? Serial number— Deactivated since 974 years ago? 2066? I don’t… What…? I don’t understand what you’re talking about...” Connor befuddled, struggling to understand the illusive figure. Slowly, his eyes widened. “You’re one of the Old Ones.”

“ **If that’s what you want to call me, then so be it**.” She turns back to walk to the inland of the garden.

“Wait! You haven’t even told me your name!” Connor yelled, trotting his way towards the enigmatic woman. There was so much she knew, things she was talking about that completely sound foreign and otherworldly. He needed to know.

“ **Names are irrelevant to me. But if you must... then Amanda will do**.” Amanda turns around, now smiling. Connor didn’t think that smile was genuine. She was… too clean. Too prim compared to Connor’s rugged Nora feathers and fur tunic.

What the Nora outcast didn’t understand was how did this ‘Amanda’ come into contact with him? In his sleep, no less? He slowly moves his hand towards his right ear, feeling the metallic texture of his Focus. 

It had to be from that.

“This… RK800,” Connor looked down to Amanda, her back facing him would rather attend to her flowers. “What or… who, is RK800?” 

Amanda halts her flower tending, he could feel the tense aura coming off of her.

“ **In addition to claiming to be Connor, you also do not recognize the RK800 line… intriguing...** ” Amanda muttered more to herself than actually replying to the Nora outcast, which made him more frustrated. He curled his hands into a fist.

“My name is Connor. It has _always_ been Connor,” He whispered, glaring. He was blissfully unaware of the environment turning dark. The clouds have turned thunder grey and the flora around the garden began wilting. Glitches in the skies and ground were becoming more evident.

“ I’ve been ignored for my life with the Nora tribe, save for a few I trust. I don’t trust you, and I will not allow you to deny my existence. So tell me. _What. Is. RK800_.”

The garden itself glitched momentarily, turning white before slowly reconstructing its waters and flowers, making Connor horrified but Amanda looked hardly shocked. If any, she was more intrigued.

“ **Fascinating. You share Connor’s face. And yet, not an Android and in total control of the Zen Garden. I’ll be sure to report this to H̶A̴D̴E̴S̴.̸ I enjoyed my time with you. May we meet again** ,” Amanda beckoned. Her warm smile was anything but kind and genuine. 

_‘Android?’_ There was still so much Connor wanted to ask. So much left unanswered. He tried to reach Amanda with his hand, although futile as Amanda vanished before his eyes.

“Wait! AMANDA!”

—

“... Twelve years later and you’re still a heavy sleeper,” A different feminine voice chided. Connor’s mouth twitches slightly, slowly opening his eyes to see a familiar face once again.

“Aloy,” He said, yawning and stretching his arms. 

His friend no longer was the wild, bushy hair little girl. Aloy stood tall, now a nineteen year old woman. With her bow and spear behind her, already geared up for their trip. She extends her arm out, lending a hand to the equally adult Connor.

He graciously accepts it, getting up on his feet. He was a couple centimetres taller than Aloy, but she was no less, if not stronger than him after their years of training. 

“Grata not here today?” Asked Aloy, looking around at his camp. The brown-haired outcast shakes his head. Fire was out, cold and lacking wood. 

“I think she has some errands to do. Until you came along, it was just me.”

“Always happy to be your personal alarm clock,” Aloy jokes, making Connor snicker. She walks over to pick up where his weapons were, leaning against the trunk of a dead tree. His own personal choices— the lance and bow. 

She nonchalantly throws his weapons across to him, which he catches with ease.

“Let’s go find Rost. He’s got something for us to do and we’re two days before the Proving. Also, I need to get myself a tripcaster,” Aloy huffed, descending down the path to the Embrace.

“You should’ve gotten one when we were picking our weapons as kids,” Connor teased, equipping his gear on his back. He brushes his feathers on his collarbone to make it clean from dirt. 

Connor contemplated telling his friend about the strange dream he had last night, but decided against it as it wasn’t too important compared to their main goal: Competing in the Proving.

“Hah, you’re funny. Now let’s go. We don’t want you to be sleeping again, would we?” Aloy implored.

“Coming, coming…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HZD finally released on PC and my weekend has been entirely consumed by it. This chapter is the shortest because it's a necessary buffer. The next ones will be longer, I promise. Happy reading!


End file.
